Metris Brings Attention Assist, Park Assist to Smaller Vans

Mercedes-Benz is bringing several new standard safety features to the smaller van segment with its 2016 Metris, in addition to giving commercial fleets flexibility in upfitting and capacities found only in some of the larger vans on the market.

The Metris cargo van will feature as standard equipment six airbags and the passenger van will feature eight air bags. Other standard features include Attention Assist, Crosswind Assist, and load-adaptive Electronic Stability Program.

Some of these standard and optional safety features were first introduced on Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class sedan, including Attention Assist that alerts the driver to the first signs of drowsiness. Attention Assist uses a steering sensor couple to onboard software that uses 70 parameters to establish a unique driver profile during the first 20 minutes of driving. The system then can identify erratic steering corrections drivers make as they begin to get drowsy, triggering an audible warning and a "Time for a Rest?" message with a coffee cup icon that lights up in the instrument cluster.

The optional Active Parking Assist allows the Metris to parallel park automatically. Once the driver activates the Active Parking Assist, the van looks for a suitable parking spot, and signals the driver when a spot is large enough for the van. The driver then takes hands off the wheel and the Metris does the steering, parking in up to seven steering maneuvers. Throughout the process, the driver can control the van by using the brake.

Most of the optional safety devices are available only as part of the Active Safety Plus Package (which costs $1,680) and the Active Safety Plus Package with Active Parking Assist (which costs $2,270). Both packages feature the same content and are priced the same whether it’s for the cargo or passenger van.